How to make over your visual displays

If you are sick of watching your retail products gather dust on the shelves, it’s time to think about your visual merchandising. In a creative industry, it amazes me how many salon owners go for the cookie-cutter approach when it comes to their retail displays.

As well as incorporating retail into your language with clients, the way you physically display your retail items has a huge impact on your ability to grow this aspect of your business. Why? Because in order to get your clients investing in your products versus the cheaper drugstore brands, you need to showcase their value by creating an attractive retail environment.

People buy luxury products emotionally, and as well as wanting their products to do the job, its important your clients feel that they are taking a little piece of your salon home with them to continue the experience. Up-selling retail to clients while they are in-service is vital, but you also want your displays to work for you, rather than against you, when you are trying to make the sale.

So with this in mind, if you think it’s time to give your retail displays a makeover – here are a few pointers on how to do it well.

1. Think outside the box with props

Think about fun props that really tell the story about how your retail products are used. For example, if you are promoting a special ‘travel sized kit’ why not create a special feature display on top of a few vintage suitcases from your local thrift store?

2. Sell to the senses

Many salons have testers to account for ‘touch’ but don’t forget about the other senses. Think about how you can incorporate smell into your displays with aromatherapy, as well as visual cues such as a mounted screen with beauty-related content playing.

3. Demonstrate your retail with hands-on promotions

Why not make your retail display dynamic by placing a member there offering free hand massages between certain hours? Once your clients have tried out the product they are much more likely to buy – and physically demonstrating the use is much more compelling than a static tester on the shelf.

4. Create creative signage

Do you have signage in your retail displays? If not, you are missing out on an opportunity to advertise promotions and attract attention. If you want to go one step further, you can even consider putting up an eye-catching weekly beauty tip related to your salon specialty.

5. Make a plan to rearrange your displays every few months

Give your clients a reason to go over and check out your retail at every visit by rearranging the look of your displays. Having the same arrangement year round gives your client little incentive to want to find out ‘what’s new’. This is also a great way to regularly update the look of your salon and add interest without blowing out your budget.

about the author

Madeline is a seasoned marketing specialist, having worked with a wide range of consumer and trade brands throughout Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Working in a global role at Shortcuts, Madeline executes marketing strategies throughout the USA and Australian markets.